Back to Work!

Ok everyone...I took two months off posting to this blog. But lucky for you, it seems the really interesting part of the season is still to come. Race Season Starts in New Jersey March 6th-8th. What you missed while I was gone:

Base- I am done with my aerobic base, and I feel confident I am in the best shape of my life, with only greater things to come. I completed hours somewhere in between the Coach's recommendation for all team riders and the higher goal for Nationals riders. My original goal was the Nationals hours, but I tell you what, it is very difficult to find the time to do 20+ hours/week for weeks in a row.

Long Rides in the Cold- While riding home from a road race last year, I was inspired by my friend Chris' (a Cat. 2 rider from the Harvard University Cycling Association) tales of long rides out to Rockport and Cape Ann during the winter for base training. At the time, I though he was crazy for riding so far by himself in the winter.

But now armed with a full arsenal of winter clothing, along with chemical foot warmers, I was inspired to try these longer rides myself. This winter I did longer rides from 65-95 miles at pure base pace. I would take two big peanut butter and jelly (or honey) sandwiches, two Clif bars, two bottles of gatorade, and some cash money for lunch. I would ride all over Cape Ann and the North Shore, going to Rockport, Ipswich, North Andover, etc. Some days I would go northwest, and go out to Harvard, Concord, Billerica, etc. The rides would last 5-6 hours usually, and it turned out to be a great way for me to get my hours in, since I hate riding inside for more than 2 hours.

It was cold, and sometimes wet or icy, but I had fun doing it. I am sure this experience will make riding 100 miles in pleasant 65 degree sunny weather a piece of cake.

One small story- About 8 days ago, I did a very long ride in the cold, and something pretty crazy happened, and showed me how wacky these long winter rides can be. My front shifter stopped working, and it felt just like I had broken the derailleur cable. I pulled over a looked down, and there was half and inch of ice built up on my downtube that had grabbed my cable and locked it in place. I got out my tool and broke off the ice with the screwdriver, and kept riding. But how crazy is that!